As a tea shop owner, one of my worst fears is that customers might inadvertently ruin their tea. This is especially easy for the novice who might not yet know the best practices. Here's a review of the most important things to do for a great tasting cup! I will …continue reading

Tea drinkers are really at a disadvantage compared to their coffee-loving counterparts when it comes to having their favorite brew at work. I’ve never been in an office that didn’t have a coffee pot. But a proper teapot? If you’re lucky you’ll get a hot water dispenser and some nasty tea bags. So it usually …continue reading

By John Rice, General Manager. When a customer is brewing loose tea for the first time, they sometimes comment that it came out tasting bitter. Unlike most bag teas, high quality loose teas require more care in brewing, and how to do this properly will vary with the particular tea being made. This is why …continue reading …continue reading

In general, freshly boiled water is appropriate for black and herbal teas, but steaming (sub-boiling) is best for green, oolong, and white teas. A lot of people use boiling water all the time and report their tea tastes fine. Ultimately, your taste preferences are all that matter, so feel free to experiment a bit with …continue reading

The best way to control the strength of your tea is the alter the amount of tea leaves you use rather than changing the brew time. People will often try to let their tea brew a long time to get a strong cup, only to find it tastes bitter. To get the best flavor, you …continue reading

This can vary significantly from tea to tea, but there are rules of thumb. In general, black tea needs to brew 3-5 minutes for best flavor. They will often get bitter if you let them brew more than 6 or 7 minutes (some much sooner). Green tea often needs only 1 minute, but 2-3 minutes …continue reading

Don’t ever underestimate the value of good quality water for tea brewing. I used to live in an area with very hard water and was completely used to it, so I never gave it any thought. But at work, I made tea with bottled spring water. After a while, I could really tell the difference. …continue reading